


Escape

by BanditCoone



Series: Eclipse [2]
Category: Black Widow (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: BAMF Natasha Romanov, Gen, Original Character(s), Werewolves, tiny mentions of blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27057226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BanditCoone/pseuds/BanditCoone
Summary: In which the Widow frees a wolf.
Series: Eclipse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754188





	1. Bound

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second work in my AU, Eclipse. I strongly recommend reading the Prelude first, as it gives 17-4’s perspective on the events that occur before this and also goes into her backstory a bit more. Comments are very appreciated, and thank you for taking interest in my fic!

Part 2 Chapter 1

Thus far, this op was a disaster. It was supposed to be a simple mission: break into the facility, steal some data, and get back to HQ. But of course an easy mission was too much to ask for.

And that’s how she found herself tied to a chair in a darkened room. She tested the bonds. If she was left alone for long enough she would be free. Whoever ran this place clearly didn’t know how much it took to truly trap a widow.

The door to the room clicked open. Light spilled in from the hall, illuminating the silhouette of one of the facility’s guards. She rolled her eyes. Torturing her for information was definitely a mistake made by someone who didn’t know what she was capable of. But to her surprise, he stepped aside and threw something into the room. It hit the floor with a soft thud and the door slammed shut once more.

A light directly above the chair clicked on, making the center of the room visible. From where she was seated she could see a large observation window with a speaker attached to the wall underneath. To her frustration the corner with whatever had been thrown in was still darkened. She worked at the bonds more, not really wanting to find out.

A low groan sounded from the darkness and she heard something- someone- stand. The cement below clicked as it stepped forward into the light. She froze in place, mouth agape.

The thing was clearly part human, considering it walked forward on two legs. The rest of it was animal. Its head was clearly a wolf’s, as well as the tail. Its paws were a mix of human fingers and claws, while its feet were simply massive wolf paws. She shifted her gaze up to its face. It was scratched to hell and its right ear had a decent nick out of it as well as two scars below it. Its ashy gray fur was matted and dirty, separated by a darker, triangular stripe going from the center of its forehead to its nose. Her green eyes met sapphire ones.

The creature’s face twisted in a mix of pain and sorrow when they made eye contact. It quickly looked away, too. She noted that it obviously wasn’t very happy to be here. She could use that to escape.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the speaker imbedded in the wall suddenly crackling to life. She saw out of the corner of her eye how the creature tended.

“17-4. Kill her,” a voice spoke.

“Transgression?” the creature responded. She was taken aback by how... human its voice sounded. It was deeper than the average voice, but still had a hint of femininity. She was also probably shocked by the fact that it was speaking at all.

“Unimportant. She is an enemy of the director. Do as you’re told,” the voice snapped in return. The speaker died with a harsh squeal.

She turned slightly when she felt the creature’s eyes on her. It had the same mournful expression from before on its face. She worked harder against the bonds on her wrists.

“I won’t,” the creature said in a shaky voice as it turned to the window. 

What it had said was obviously a poor choice of words as the door to the hall snapped open. The guard that had previously thrown it in now stepped forward, a taser in his hands cracking to life. He lunged and shoved it into the monster’s side as it snarled.

In half a second the creature disarmed the man and clawed at his throat. He collapsed, blood trickling from the wound. He wouldn’t die from it, just by her eyeballing it alone. Her wrists were almost free now.

“Shit,” the creature whispered as it stared down in horror at the guard. Its head snapped up and looked at her before it stepped forward. She tensed in anticipation for an attack.

But instead she felt the bonds loosen and then break. She looked at the creature. Had it... freed her?

“Run. You still have a chance. If you really are an enemy of the director, they’ll want you dead,” it rasped as it offered her a hand.

“I’ll make you a deal. Show me where the server room is and I’ll see what I can do about getting both of us out of here in one piece,” she offered. It was stupid to trust this thing, but she was hoping its large size meant it was strong enough to fend off the guards for her. It nodded, running into the hall. She followed.

The wolf led her through the maze of halls as an alarm began to blare. They made it to the server room and she took as much information as she could.

She tucked the drive into her tac suit, withdrew her guns, and charged alongside the wolf toward the exit. As expected, guards were ready and waiting for them. They slashed and shot their way out, sprinting for the fencing that blocked the woods. 

The guards in the watchtowers shot down at them relentlessly, leaving them no choice but to bob and weave wildly. They made it beyond the fence when the final shot was fired... directly into the wolf’s leg. It yelped in pain for a moment before forcing itself to continue running. The two moved through the freezing, pitch black woods without stopping.

“Extraction is up ahead!” she called to the wolf. It nodded, continuing to limp-run to the S.H.I.E.L.D. transport. Slamming themselves into the seats and finally taking a breath, the two raced away from the facility. 

She glanced over at the wolf as she drove. It was panting heavily and blood was slowly but surely dripping from the gunshot wound. Now that they were in better light (and not running for their lives) she could see the wolf was wearing a gray tank top and darker gray shorts. The former was marked with the same number stated earlier: 17-4.

“That doesn’t look pleasant,” she said, bobbing her head toward the wolf’s injured leg.

“It stings a bit,” the wolf replied dryly. Gods, its voice sounded rough.

“We’ll get it patched up,” she paused, “hopefully it didn’t go in too deep.”

“It didn’t,” the wolf winced. It grabbed its leg and applied pressure to the wound.

They remained in silence for most of the ride to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. The wolf stared out of the window for the entire trip.

“Stars are nice tonight, huh?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been outside of the facility.”

“You got a name?”

“17-4. Experiment 17-4 if we’re being formal,” the wolf answered. “You?”

“They call me the Black Widow, but my name is Natasha,” she responded.

Two hours later, the transport came to a halt. They’d arrived.  
*  
She felt uneasy. This amount of kindness usually entailed a trap. Not to mention the offer of medical attention without strings attached. Nobody to fight. Nothing to kill.

She followed the redheaded woman through the hall. It smelled clean here. It didn’t reek of blood and death, rather anti-septic and cleaning products. Her claws clicked across the linoleum as she mindlessly followed.

A doctor met them at the end of the hall. She answered some questions and let them take her vitals and a look at her leg. As much as she hated it, she knew getting the stupid bullet out was more important than her fears.

The woman- Natasha- left at some point between tests. She really only noticed once she was done and the bullet was out. The doctor led her into another room, this one containing a bed.

“You can rest here while your wound heals,” the doctor explained. “There’s a bathroom with a shower behind that door. I’ll send a nurse in with some food in a bit.”

As he left she realized this was definitely a trap of some sort. She played along regardless, taking the first shower in what had seemed like weeks. She toweled her fur dry and stared at her reflection. The snow white wolf staring back was unfamiliar. She stepped out of the bathroom.

She sat on the bed and swung her legs over the side. It was infinitely softer than the cot she’d slept on for god knows how long. As exhausted as she was- as she had been for years- she ignored the temptation of sleep. Everything in her told her to stay awake and alert. She couldn’t trust these people, regardless if one had saved her.


	2. Treat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The quickest way to a starving wolf’s heart is easily the stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to upload a chapter earlier than planned! I’ll probably add some more, considering I have a long weekend off. If you haven’t already, I recommend checking out the first part to this series, Prelude. Comments are appreciated!

Part 2 Chapter 2  
In the end, exhaustion won out. She only realized when she jolted upward at the sound of the room’s door opening. A lanky young man awkwardly shuffled in, his messy blonde hair obscuring his face and his arms full of... blue cups?

“Hey, Aud! I stole literally all of the Jell-o! It was totally-“ he looked up and stopped mid-sentence. Now that she could clearly see his face, she noticed his bright green eyes and freckles. She eyed him up and down. He did the same in return, nearly dropping the “Jell-o” (whatever that was) when he saw her.

“Well, uh... this definitely isn’t Audrey’s room,” he said to himself. “I can offer you a cup of Jell-o if you don’t tell anyone I stole it all.”

She simply blinked, not offering an answer. His nervous smile never faltered. He approached her bed slowly and held out a cup as an offering. She looked over the blue contents questioningly. 

“I, uh, didn’t grab any spoons, so it might be kinda hard to eat,” he spoke. “But blue is definitely the best flavor.”

He was offering her rations? This had to be some sort of trick. Nevertheless, she took the little cup in her paws. Whatever was inside smelled interesting. She cautiously reached in and tore a chunk of it out, popping it into her mouth. It was strange... and amazing. She’d never eaten anything this flavorful. She allowed herself a small smile as she tasted more of the substance.

“Right. Well, I gotta get this all to my friend, Audrey,” he said. “I’m Austin. What’s your name?”

“17-4,” she replied. She hoped he couldn’t sense the nervous edge to her voice.

“Huh. That’s definitely unique. Okay, I should probably get going. Hope I see you around.”

The second the door shut behind him she scarfed down the Jell-o. She was starving- she always was. And trust her, she knew eating when no one was around was the safest option. No risk of someone hungrier ripping it away from you, at least.

A nurse came in at a later time to check her bandages and clean any blood that might’ve spilled onto her fur. She nearly argued that she could do it herself, but there was no need to get on anyone’s bad side. The nurse finished replacing the bandages and made note of something on a clipboard before leaving the room.

She was alone again. It let her think, and thinking was a dangerous thing. She’d once been told that being alone with whatever the mind conjured was the most dangerous thing of all. She couldn’t remember who had said it to her, but whenever she tried to it... hurt. Odd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for making it this far! Hopefully, I’ll be uploading tomorrow or the next day. I’m having some fun finally writing this out rather than just planning.


	3. Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She remembers one of the teachings from the facility; “to give something a name is to give it a place in this world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter three!!!! i’ll probably be starting part three of this series very soon.

Part 2 Chapter 3  
She didn’t have time to dwell on the thought. Natasha had returned and spoke with her, asking questions.

“Do you know if there were any others like you?” the woman asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, I know your name. Do you know anything else about yourself? Birthday, age, anything?”

17-4 shifted under the covers slightly. She tried to think of something- anything- she could answer with. Her brain was fuzzy and tired.

“I’m the first successful human-wolf hybrid,” she offered weakly. “And I have other enhancements.”

“Like what?”

“I have a metal plate in my left leg to hold the bone together, and an artificial voice box.”

“Alright, that was the last of the questions. If you think of anything else, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

17-4 nods as the woman leaves, silently closing the door behind her. She waits a moment and listens to the sounds of people moving around the hospital. She turns and looks out of the window in the room. The night sky is full of gleaming stars. She smiles to herself, for she is free.  
****  
Her wound heals completely in two days. The doctors who come by are nothing like the ones she barely remembers from the facility. They’re gentle and warn her when they draw blood or touching the slightly tender flesh on her leg. After being poked and prodded at she does more standard tests. X-rays are taken. She feels like an anomaly. An oddity.

The testing halts and the authority of S.H.I.E.L.D. extends an offer. She can join their ranks, train, and save lives. She accepts in a heartbeat. She’ll have to undergo deprogramming and she’s warned it won’t be an easy process. It doesn’t matter. As long as she’s free, it doesn’t matter.

Another development is her realization that she doesn’t want to be 17-4 anymore. She doesn’t want to be another specimen studied in a lab. She doesn’t want to be the weak girl that let her suffering go on for years. She wants to be strong and good. She wants a name.

Its trivial, really. She remembers one of the teachings from the facility; “to give something a name is to give it a place in this world.” She wants a place in this world. She wants it more than she’s ever wanted anything in her entire life.

To want something is a dangerous thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> small thank you to wolf and lilly for actually taking an interest in my work, as well as anyone else who has read this!

**Author's Note:**

> If you’ve made it this far, thanks! I’m still very new to writing fan fiction so this may not be the best work you’ve read. I have big plans for this AU, but I need some time to work them out. This fic will have multiple chapters, and i should hopefully be posting them bi-weekly.


End file.
